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OTTAWA — Canada is stepping up its consular presence in Russia ahead of the Winter Games following a pair of deadly terrorist attacks that have exposed the vulnerability of those travelling to the Sochi Olympics.

QMI Agency has learned that a team of consular experts will be deployed to Sochi for the duration of the Games to provide assistance to Canadians in distress.

Foreign Affairs will also staff a consular office in the Black Sea resort town and will provide support from Ottawa at the Emergency Watch and Response Centre and at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow.

The government will also continue to conduct contingency exercises with federal departments involved in the Olympics to better react to emergencies.

"These exercises are meant to prepare government officials and our stakeholders to respond to a crisis should one occur," said a government official.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the bombings in Volgograd were cowardly acts of terrorism and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

"While the threat of terrorism remains a persistent global reality, our resolve to fight it will not be diminished or weakened," he said Monday.

The back-to-back suicide explosions — one at a train station Sunday and the other on a bus Monday — killed at least 31 people and have raised concerns about the safety of athletes, coaches, media and others heading to the Games.

Volgograd is a major transportation centre in southern Russia and is considered one of the main rail and bus hubs to Sochi, about 650 kilometres away.

Baird said Canada is committed to working with Russia to combat all forms of terrorism.

"We continue to engage Russian officials in discussions on special security arrangements that will be in place at Olympic venues, airports, border crossings, and other sensitive areas," he said in a statement.

The head of the International Olympic Committee said he was satisfied the Games, that begin Feb. 7, would be safe and secure, and he condemned the violence.

"Sadly terrorism is a global disease but it must never be allowed to triumph," Thomas Bach said in a statement from Switzerland.

Bach wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin to express the IOC's condolences to the Russian people and its confidence in security measures.

"I am certain that everything will be done to ensure the security of athletes and all the participants," he said.

The Canadian Olympic Committee said the safety of the Canadian team — which is expected to number about 220 athletes — is its top priority.

"The Canadian Olympic Committee works very closely with the RCMP, Sochi and Russian security agencies, medical and government partners in the months and years leading up to the Games to ensure the entire team remains safe throughout the Games," the COC said in a statement.

"The COC strives to ensure that athletes feel safe and secure at all times so 100% of their attention is focused on their sport and achieving podium success."